Fire Ants

Taken from Fire Ant Sting Allergy - ACAAI on March 30th, 2012:

"The severity of a fire ant sting reaction varies from person to person. One of the main differences between fire ants and other insects is that a usual sting event consists of multiple fire ants stinging. This is because when a fire ant mound is disturbed hundreds to thousands of fire ants respond. In addition, each ant can sting repeatedly. Each ant will bite and hold on with its mandibles (jaw) and sting several times. If not removed, this results in a little semi-circular pattern of stings. Since fire ants hold on with their mandibles, they often have to be pulled off individually and are not easily brushed off when they are stinging.

Almost all people stung by fire ants develop an itchy, localized hive or lump at the sting site, which usually subsides within 30 to 60 minutes. This is followed by a small blister within four hours. This usually appears to become filled with pus-like material by eight to 24 hours. However, what is seen is really dead tissue, and the blister has little chance of being infected unless it is opened. When healed, these lesions may leave scars."

http://www.scottsdale-pest-control.com/fire-ants.html

So this is what I got while at an outdoor show on Saturday night. Up until now, it hasn't itched too much, but for whatever reason, tonight my feet are itching like crazy. If I were to put down a list of reasons why Canada is better than Brazil (or vice-versa), lack of fire ants would definitely be one of them. But, after doing some research, I've quickly found out that a species of European fire ant has already invaded Canada. See link: http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2010/06/16/f-fire-ant-faq.html

Well, now that I know there's fire ants in Canada too, no reason to come home now!